Exposition : Dead Train par Le Turk

Galerie Achetez de l'Art

Start the school year gently with our exhibition devoted to the original pages of Dead Train, the first graphic novel by photographer Sébastien Salamand aka Le Turk. We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming exhibition devoted to Dead Train by the artist Le Turk, from August 27 to September 12, 2026, at our Parisian gallery. The artist Sébastien Salamand aka Le Turk is a French artist, photographer and visual artist, recognized for his singular visual universe. He is now turning towards the world of comics with his first work Dead Train, which we are exhibiting through a selection of original pages. As early as 2011, he opened his first studio, where he brought original sets to life through a singular blend of classical painting and culture, using materials such as wood, cardboard and polystyrene, giving free rein to his overflowing imagination, making him a complete artist. In 2015, with the publication of his first photography book, the artist Le Turk emerged as a key figure on the French photography scene, thus consolidating his status within the contemporary art world. Three years later, the city of Metz acquired a triptych of his works as part of the "Photographie Mon Amour" festival, offering him a retrospective exhibition at the Basilique Saint Vincent. Beyond his limited-edition artistic creations, the artist collaborates with ready-to-wear brands, leaving his visual mark on iconic campaigns. He notably took over from Sarah Moon for the Lilith brand campaign, offering a distinctive visual interpretation. These collaborations demonstrate his ability to merge visual art with the world of fashion, creating singular and memorable visual collaborations. After living for several years between France and Germany, he chose to settle in Sologne, his native region. It is there that he opened his 350 sq. m studio, named l'Usine à Merveilles, with Laura Salamand. In this space, he gives free rein to his wild cinematic ideas and to the creation of innovative photographic projects. His photographic stagings gradually led him towards directing short films and music videos, thus reconnecting with his initial passion for music. This studio has become a true laboratory of experimentation where the arts meet and intertwine, creating a unique creative synergy. His work draws inspiration in particular from the world of Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro, as well as from fantasy cinema and a certain surrealism. For more than twenty years, he has developed a highly personal body of work in which each image is conceived as a theatrical scene. Unlike traditional photography, Le Turk creates all of his works himself: he designs the sets and directs his models like true actors. His characters, with their often porcelain-like faces reminiscent of wax dolls, evolve within mysterious worlds. This artisanal approach makes each of his works a complete staging. Dead Train In 2026, Le Turk takes a new step in his career by publishing Dead Train, his first graphic novel, written with Wallace Carpentier. Today, Le Turk stands out as a complete artist, able to move from photography to comics without losing his artistic identity, his work distinguished by a unique atmosphere. He transposes his universe and his photographic eye into the ninth art with precise drawing full of detail, accompanied by highly elaborate settings. With this first volume, Le Turk achieves a convincing entry into the world of comics, offering an album with a strong graphic identity and an intriguing narrative, with a universe already solidly built. A promising first step that makes one want to board Dead Train once again. The story takes us to Dead Train, an isolated town where mysteries seem to hide behind every façade. As the pages unfold, the narrative builds an oppressive atmosphere and multiplies questions without ever fully revealing everything; the plot gradually takes shape, leaving doubt hanging until the very last pages. Several protagonists gradually reveal a more complex personality than it first appears, leaving the reader eager to continue the adventure in the second volume. This first volume confirms his ability to tell stories and build a complete and rich universe while preserving the visual richness that made his reputation as a photographer. Le Turk here rediscovers everything that makes his work as a photographer singular, and the gaze that this builds. The framings are precise, the interplay of shadow and light gives the work a constant depth, while the delicately featured faces sometimes evoke his photographs. Each page is particularly rich in detail. The city's architecture, drawn with great precision, fully contributes to the mysterious atmosphere of the story. The settings teem with elements that invite the reader to linger over each panel, reinforcing the immersion into this dark and singular universe. In his pages, he builds rich images whose power lies in the particular attention paid to detail. Through meticulous work in Indian ink, he carefully shapes his sets and characters. His richly worked drafts result in highly considered and carefully constructed pages, where nothing is left to chance. Our commitments For five years, our focus has been on highlighting the works behind the book, in order to offer our visitors the full richness of the graphic novel. The purchase of a work is thus extended into a more complete and sensitive experience. Through the origi

Source: Paris Open Data ↗